Laravel eager loading vs lazy loading

- Eager loading loads all necessary data upfront, reducing the number of database queries required. This can be especially helpful when working with large data sets[1][4].

- Lazy loading, on the other hand, loads data only when it is needed. This can be useful when dealing with smaller data sets or complex relationships[4].

For example, in a blog with articles and comments, eager loading would load all necessary posts and comments when the page loads, usually through the `with` method[4]:

php
$articles = App\Article::with('comments')->get();

Lazy loading only loads the comments when a user clicks to view them[4].

The main differences are:

- Eager loading makes a single, more complex query to retrieve all related data at once, while lazy loading makes multiple, simpler queries as needed[1][2].

- Eager loading is better for optimizing performance when you know you will need the related data, while lazy loading is better for reducing unnecessary queries when the related data may not always be needed[2][3].

- Eager loading can help avoid the "N+1 query problem" where a loop causes an additional query for each related item[1][3].

So in summary, eager loading is best for optimizing performance when you know you need the related data, while lazy loading is best for reducing unnecessary queries when the related data may not always be needed. The choice depends on the specific requirements of your application.